2013 Limité Film Guide: Staff Picks

The cineplex will be run over this year with quality movies, both big and small. This year, each member of Limité‘s film staff presents his or her top 10 picks. What movies are you most looking forward to? Comment below.

Note: Since many of these films are currently in various stages of production, the release dates are subject to change. All loglines are courtesy of IMDb.com, unless otherwise noted.

Dan’s Picks

GRAVITY

by Daniel Quitério

Director: Alfonso Cuarón

Screenwriters: Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón, Rodrigo Garcia

Cast: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney

Genres: Sci-fi, Thriller

Distributor: Universal Pictures

Release Date: October 18

It’s been six years since Mexican writer/director Alfonso Cuarón took a seat in the director’s chair. And now, following his heralded 2006 release Children of Men, the filmmaker is primed to launch his much-anticipated sci-fi thriller Gravity. The $80 million space odyssey tale focuses on a pair of astronauts who are stranded beyond Earth after debris smashes into their shuttle during a routine spacewalk. Characters played by Oscar winners Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are tethered together as they spiral into negative space, hoping to find a way home.

The director partnered with his son Jonás Cuarón and filmmaker Rodrigo García (Albert Nobbs, 2011) on the script, which will be realized on screen in 3D and IMAX 3D. Prior to Bullock’s and Clooney’s attachment to the film, the two crucial roles had names like Angelina Jolie and Robert Downey Jr. attached to them. Several other notable Hollywood elites were also considered for the weighty female lead, including Marion Cotillard, Scarlett Johansson, and Natalie Portman, among others. Cuarón proves himself an auteur of the highest caliber with this and other films which he wrote, directed, produced, and edited. His three previous Oscar nominations came in the categories of Best Original Screenplay (Y tu mamá también, 2001), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing (Children of Men, 2006). Gravity will be photographed by past Cuarón collaborator, the 5-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer and fellow Mexico native Emmanuel Lubezki, who likely employs a similar sense of vast space and wonder in this film as he displayed in Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life (2011).

STOKER

After India’s father dies, her Uncle Charlie, who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her unstable mother. She comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives and becomes increasingly infatuated with him.

After the crew of the Enterprise finds an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a warzone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction.

Director: J.J. Abrams

Screenwriters: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof

Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch

Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci-fi

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Release Date: May 17

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY

A look at the relationship between Mike and Sulley during their days at the University of Fear—when they weren’t necessarily the best of friends.

Set in the year 2159, where the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth, a man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds.

NOTE: Since information on the film is being kept under wraps, the following is a summary from the novel on which the film is based.

In the second installment of the Hunger Games trilogy, heroine Katniss Everdeen returns to District 12 with Peeta Mellark, her co-victor of the 74th Hunger Games. Katniss’s relationship with her best friend Gale Hawthorne is complicated by her manufactured love for Peeta, but before they can resolve it, Katniss and Peeta embark on their Victor’s tour of Panem’s districts. It is clear the districts are filled with unrest and President Snow plans a twist for the 75th Hunger Games (aka the Quarter Quell) that could change Panem forever and threaten the lives of Katniss and Peeta yet again.

Though Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth reprise their roles as Katniss, Peeta, and Gale, respectively, a new writer, director, and cast members have been added. Director Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend, 2007) and Oscar-winning writer Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire, 2008) take the reins from co-writer/director Gary Ross. Additional cast members include Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright (Source Code, 2011), Jena Malone (Sucker Punch, 2011), and Sam Claflin (Snow White and the Huntsman, 2012). The film was shot in the fall and winter of 2012 in Georgia and Hawaii and is currently scheduled for a November release.

GANGSTER SQUAD

Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes, and—if he has his way—every wire bet placed west of Chicago. (Yahoo! Movies)

A parasitic alien soul is injected into the body of Melanie Stryder. Instead of carrying out her race’s mission of taking over the Earth, “Wanda” (as she comes to be called) forms a bond with her host and sets out to aid other free humans.

Coming off its failed attempt in 2006 to reboot the Supermanfranchise with director Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns, Warner Bros. tries again with what it hopes will net much better results withMan of Steel. Looking to capture the same success of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, the studio hired Nolan’s writing partner on that franchise, David S. Goyer, to pen the script. Nolan, himself, came on board as executive producer and entrusted director Zack Synder (Watchmen, 2009) to re-tell the famed character’s origin.

Goyer stated that this version of Superman would be more human and naturalistic without taking away too much of the whimsy and optimism fans have come to expect with this character. He said, “Our approach has been to try to imagine these stories as if they could happen in the same complex world in which we live.” The casting of the title character went through exhaustive searches before Synder and Nolan hired the relatively unknown Henry Cavill, best known for the Showtime series The Tudors. The British actor actually came close to landing the role in 2004 for a planned reboot that never materialized. The film’s plot has been kept top secret, but we do know that actor Michael Shannon will portray the villainous role of General Zod, and other notable roles will be filled by Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Russell Crowe (Jor-El), Diane Lane (Martha Kent), Kevin Costner (Jonathan Kent), and Laurence Fishburne (Perry White).

OZ: THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

A stage magician is hurled into a fantasy world and must use his wits to stay ahead of three enchantresses who have plans for him.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby sees its latest adaptation courtesy of director and creative madman Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge!, 2001), who brings the Roaring Twenties to a vivid and vibrant 3D life. Gatsby is seen through the eyes of Nick Carraway (Tobey McGuire), a burgeoning writer who arrives in New York City in 1922 amidst the breakout of jazz music, free-spirited women, and Prohibition-era bootlegging. He lives across the bay from his cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) and her cheating aristocratic husband Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton), and next door to wild party-throwing, enigmatic millionaire Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio). In witnessing their wealthy, madcap lives, Carraway writes about their passions, struggles, and eventual tragedy.

Luhrmann reunites with star DiCaprio for the first time since their 1996 adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet. Though shooting completed in December 2011, and the film was slated to see a Christmas 2012 release (prime time for Oscar consideration), the film was pushed back to next spring’s pre-Memorial Day film rush, prompting many to believe that it has some problems. Yet, this latest film adaptation of the novel remains one of the most anticipated films of 2013.

As his lover announces her pregnancy, a 40-something slacker receives other life-changing news: 142 people—all of them the result of artificial insemination—have filed a class action lawsuit against him, their biological father.

Director: Ken Scott

Screenwriters: Ken Scott, Martin Petit

Cast: Patrick Huard, Julie LeBreton, Antoine Bertrand

Genre: Comedy

Distributor: Entertainment One

Release Date: March 29

WE THE PEEPLES

A psychologist realizes his professional help is needed after he arrives unannounced at his girlfriend’s family’s annual end-of-summer party.

The costumed high-school hero Kick-Ass joins with a group of normal citizens who have been inspired to fight crime in costume. Meanwhile, the Red Mist plots an act of revenge that will affect everyone Kick-Ass knows.

A DEA agent and an undercover Naval Intelligence officer who have been tasked with investigating one another find they have been set up by the mob—the very organization the two men believe they have been stealing money from.

Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters, directed by Norwegian filmmaker Tommy Wirkola (Dead Snow, 2009), is a dark, violent, and action-packed take on the children’s fairy tale. It takes place 15 years after the original story, and we find the brother-sister duo (Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton) making a living as vengeful bounty hunters who work to rid the world of witches. When they are called by the Mayor of Augsburg to rid the forests of an evil sorceress (Famke Janssen) who plans to sacrifice a group of children, Gretel is captured and Hansel must rush to save her before it’s too late.

Fortunately for fans of the horror-action genre, all of the blood and gore will be presented in 3D and on IMAX screens this January. There’s a lot of buzz surrounding Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters, which, apart from its cast (Renner’s role in The Avengers is sure to draw an audience), might also be attributed to the fact that the film is produced by Gary Sanchez Productions, the Will Ferrell/Adam McKay company that is behind popular website Funny Or Die. It will be interesting to see how their influence affects the movie (if at all), but it’s safe to predict a bloody, fast-paced, action movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

WARM BODIES

After a zombie becomes involved with the girlfriend of one of his victims, their romance sets in motion a sequence of events that might transform the entire lifeless world.

The resurgence of zombies in pop culture has lead to an explosion of undead lore in various media. The show The Walking Dead is one of the most popular programs on television right now. Next year,Twilight fans get their own flesh-eating romance movie with the release of Warm Bodies. However, the most eager release for a zombie movie is most likely World War Z, based on the hugely popular best-selling novel by Max Brooks. The story concerns a journalist covering the apocalypse, and the book covers various angles of that framed narrative all over the globe. How successfully the movie translates that into a single, straightforward plot remains to be seen.

Brad Pitt both stars in and produces the film. He personally selected director Marc Forster, who helmed the previous James Bond filmQuantum of Solace (2008). However, that collaboration has proven to be far from fruitful. As reported by Vulture magazine, tensions between the two have escalated to the point where they only communicate through assistants. Further complicating matters, early screenings of rough cuts have shown massive problems with the film’s end, which would benefit from major rewrites. Indeed, it seems that much is still in the works. Audiences will get a chance this July to see if they get the all-out zombie action epic they’ve been hungry for.

JOHN DIES AT THE END

A new street drug that sends its users across time and dimensions has one drawback: some people return as no longer human. Can two college dropouts save humankind from this silent, otherworldly invasion?

Director: Don Coscarelli

Screenwriter: Doc Coscarelli

Cast: Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Paul Giamatti

Genres: Comedy, Fantasy, Horror

Distributor: Magnet Releasing

Release Date: January 25

SIDE EFFECTS

A woman turns to prescription medication as a way of handling her anxiety concerning her husband’s upcoming release from prison.

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Screenwriter: Scott Z. Burns

Cast: Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Jude Law, Catherine Zeta-Jones

Genres: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Distributor: Open Road Films

Release Date: February 8

LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE

A drama centered on the relationship of a young woman and old man in Tokyo.

Director: Abbas Kiarostami

Screenwriter: Abbas Kiarostami

Cast: Ryo Kase, Rin Takanashi, Denden

Genre: Drama

Distributors: IFC Films, Sundance Selects

Release Date: February 15 (NYC)

PACIFIC RIM

When an alien attack threatens the Earth’s existence, giant robots piloted by humans are deployed to fight off the menace.

A fine art auctioneer mixed up with a gang joins forces with a hypnotherapist to recover a lost painting. As boundaries between desire, reality, and hypnotic suggestion begin to blur the stakes rise faster than anyone could have anticipated.

Director: Danny Boyle

Screenwriters: Joe Ahearne, John Hodge

Cast: James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson, Vincent Cassel

Genres: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Distributor: Fox Searchlight

Release Date: TBD

GRAVITY

(see Dan’s Picks)

MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM

(See Stephanie’s Picks)

SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR

(See Saidah’s Picks)

Adrian’s Picks

MAMA

Annabel and Lucas are faced with the challenge of raising his young nieces that were left alone in the forest for five years … but how alone were they?